Table 11.16 shows the number of victims of criminal offences in 2005 as recorded by Australian police.

11.16 VICTIMS(a), By selected offences - 2005

Homicide and related offences

769

Murder

270

Attempted murder

273

Manslaughter

25

Driving causing death(b)

201

Kidnapping/abduction(c)

730

Robbery

16,787

Armed robbery

6,222

Unarmed robbery

10,565

Blackmail/extortion(d)

393

Unlawful entry with intent

284,188

Property theft(e)

204,195

Other(e)

79,993

Motor vehicle theft(f)

80,738

Other theft

519,128

(a) Number as recorded by police in all jurisdictions. Depending on the type of offence recorded, a victim may be a person, a premise, an organisation or a motor vehicle.(b) New South Wales data is estimated. Incomplete counts for Western Australia due to the introduction of a new system. Includes driving causing grievous bodily harm for Western Australia. Excludes negligent driving for Tasmania. Data not available for Northern Territory as not an offence defined by law.(c) Counts for New South Wales may be inflated slightly.(d) Includes food tampering for South Australia.(e) Property taken may not always be identified for Victoria.(f) Western Australia data includes theft of caravans and trailers.

The number of victims in 2005 declined in most offence categories compared with 2004. The number of victims of homicide and related offences decreased by 10%, while victims of motor vehicle theft and unlawful entry with intent both decreased by 8%. Other theft and kidnapping/abduction both decreased by 5%.Increases were recorded for blackmail/extortion (6%) and robbery (2%).

Graph 11.17 shows the percentage change between 2004 and 2005 in the number of victims of selected offences.

In 2005, the victimisation rates for motor vehicle theft (397 per 100,000 persons) and unlawful entry with intent (1,398 per 100,000 persons) were the lowest since national reporting began in 1993, while homicide and related offences remained the same as 2004 (4 per 100,000 persons). The victimisation rate for other theft was the lowest since 1995 (2,554 per 100,000 persons).

The victimisation rate for robbery increased by less than 1% from the 2004 rate to 83 per 100,000 persons.

AGE OF VICTIMS

Men in the age groups 15-24 years and 45-64 years were twice as likely to be a victim of murder than women of the same age groups. Men were three times more likely to be a victim of attempted murder if aged 15-24 years than women in the same age group.

For kidnapping/abduction boys aged 0-14 years had the highest victimisation rate for men (5 per 100,000 males), while for women the 15-24 age group had the highest victimisation rate for the same offence (12 per 100,000 females).

The victimisation rate for robbery was the highest in the 15-24 year age group for men (316 per 100,000 males) and women (96 per 100,000 females) (table 11.18).

11.18 VICTIMISATION RATES(a) OF SELECTED CRIMES(b) - 2005

Age group (years)

Offence category

Murder

Attempted
murder

Driving
causing
death

Kidnapping/
abduction

Robbery(c)

Blackmail/
extortion(c)

MALES

0-14

0.7

0.4

0.3

5.4

25.6

0.2

15-24

1.5

2.8

2.5

3.9

315.9

3.2

25-44

2.5

3.3

1.1

1.6

111.2

2.9

45-64

1.4

1.1

0.6

0.6

44.8

2.7

65 and over

1.1

0.3

0.3

0.3

18.4

0.7

All ages(d)

1.7

1.9

0.9

2.5

99.2

2.2

FEMALES

0-14

0.6

0.5

0.0

7.7

5.5

0.2

15-24

0.7

0.9

1.3

12.3

96.1

2.5

25-44

1.5

1.3

0.6

3.0

48.1

1.4

45-64

0.7

0.8

0.5

0.4

27.3

1.2

65 and over

0.3

0.0

0.5

0.5

16.9

0.3

All ages(d)

1.0

0.8

0.6

4.6

38.2

1.2

PERSONS(e)

0-14

0.7

0.5

0.2

6.6

15.9

0.2

15-24

1.1

1.8

1.9

8.0

210.0

2.8

25-44

2.0

2.3

0.9

2.3

80.3

2.2

45-64

1.0

0.9

0.5

0.5

36.3

2.0

65 and over

0.7

0.1

0.4

0.4

17.8

0.4

All ages(d)

1.3

1.4

1.0

3.6

69.2

1.7

(a) Victims per 100,000 persons.(b) As recorded by police in all jurisdictions. (c) Refers to person victims only and therefore does not include organisations as victims.(d) Includes victims for whom age was not specified.(e) Includes victims for whom sex was not specified.

In 2005, a weapon was most likely to have been used in attempted murder (72%) and murder (59%) offences. A knife was the most common type of weapon used and was involved in nearly one-third of murders (30%) and attempted murders (29%). A firearm was involved in 18% of attempted murders, 10% of murders and 5% of robberies (table 11.19).

Murders involving a weapon increased by 7% from 2004, but were 15% lower than in 2001. The proportion of weapon use for this offence was similar in 2005 compared with 2001 (59% in 2005 compared with 60% in 2001).

11.19 VICTIMS(a), By use of weapon in commission of selected offences - 2005

Murder

Attempted
murder

Kidnapping/
abduction

Robbery(b)

Weapon used

Firearm

26

48

9

758

Knife

80

80

66

3,182

Other weapon

40

53

25

1,471

Total(c)

159

197

114

6,222

No weapon used

107

76

613

10,174

Total(d)

270

273

731

16,787

(a) As recorded by police in all jurisdictions.(b) For the offence of Robbery, a victim may be a person or an organisation.(c) Includes weapon use not further defined.(d) Includes unknown or not stated weapon use.

A knife was used in 30% of murders recorded in 2005, the highest proportion since 2001 (29%), while the use of firearms for this offence continued to decline for this same period, from 16% in 2001 to 10% in 2005. Murders involving other weapons comprised 15% of the total (chart 11.20).

The proportion of robberies in which a weapon was used declined from 42% in 2001 to 37% in 2005. The proportions have remained relatively stable since 2002, ranging from 36% to 37%.

The use of knives was more prevalent for robberies than firearms, comprising 19% of all robberies. This proportion was slightly higher than the proportion in 2004 (18%), but lower than that recorded in 2001 (23%). Firearms accounted for 5% of total robberies in 2005, a slight decline from the proportions recorded in the preceding four years (around 6% of all robberies). Other weapon use ranged between 8% and 9% during the period 2001 to 2005 (chart 11.21).